Originally posted by ehsan singapore
View Post
-
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/07/27...ran-team-mate/ -
That makes him the most expensive Asian transfer of all time. Son was the most expensive to Tottenham for 22 million pounds but 25 million Euros is 22 million and change.Originally posted by inarsenewetrust View PostComment
-
Good article by ESPN from all places
http://www.espn.com/soccer/english-p...premier-league
There is a longstanding summer tradition of the big stars from the Dutch top tier heading to the English Premier League. The list of those who have shone -- such as Arjen Robben and Ruud van Nistlerooy -- is mirrored by the misses -- Mateja Kezman, Afonso Alves and Jon Dahl Tomasson. It remains to be seen on what side of that divide Alireza Jahanbakhsh falls as he becomes Brighton and Hove Albion's record signing, but the Iranian winger has shone every time he has stepped up to the next level.
There is more pressure on his shoulders than simply showing that there is still plenty of talent in the Eredivisie, where the winger finished as the leading scorer last season. A bigger responsibility is to show the world there is just as much talent in Iran and to show young Iranians that if he can go from playing on the streets of the country's northwest to unfashionable club Damash Gilan and end up in the world's richest and most popular league by the age of 24, then they can too.
Asia's No. 1 football nation, in terms of FIFA rankings at least, has yet to really produce a player to really star in England's top tier. Ashkan Dejagah and Andranik Teymourian are fondly remembered at Fulham and Bolton, respectively, while national legend Karim Bagheri is best remembered in England as being the answer to a quiz question for his single appearance for Charlton Athletic. None of them arrived in the Premier League with the kind of European experience and reputation that Jahanbakhsh has, however.
It took courage and ambition to leave Iran as a teenager to join NEC in the Netherlands' second tier in 2013. He starred during his two years, and was named the division's player of the year in 2015, before moving to the top flight with AZ Alkmaar. There he went from strength to strength. By the end of the 2016-17 season he was being named as the best winger in the league. The following year he could lay claim to being the best player full stop. Scoring 21 goals last season was impressive enough, but his 12 assists were joint best as well. It was no surprise there was plenty of interest in the player, with Leicester City trying to hijack the deal at the last minute. Indeed, it was more of an eyebrow-raiser that there weren't more suitors.
Perhaps had the 2018 World Cup gone a little better, things might have been different. Jahanbakhsh appeared in all three of Iran's games, but in a tough group with Morocco, Spain and Portugal and with a coach focused on keeping things tight at the back, he got little chance to shine and less time on the ball.
That will be forgotten with his first goal for Brighton. There is no question the goals will come from the right-winger who offers versatility in attack and started out as a full-back, it's more about how many he scores and creates. His speed, his running and ability to find space in and around the box means there will always be chances. The question is how he adapts to the lack of space and time that he will have, or not have, in England compared to the Eredivisie. A technique that still needs some work is found out less often in the slower confines of Holland. In the Premier League, he needs to improve that part of his game. If he can, then Brighton will have a major bargain on their hands.
The signs from his time with AZ are good. It is not that common for a team to lose its best player but everyone left behind smiles and wishes him well. That is nothing however compared to the response back home with excitement at the prospect of seeing whether he can reproduce his Dutch form on a bigger stage and pride at the reported €20 million transfer fee.
It would have been considerably less three years ago when Brighton were interested and he actually visited the club before deciding to join AZ. "I [decided I] would rather stay in the Netherlands for two or three more years, to develop myself with more experience to be ready for this competition and this amazing club," Jahanbakhsh said after signing the deal that makes him the most expensive signing in the club's history. "I was thinking if I got the opportunity again, I would take it. I always had a good feeling about this club."
The feeling may well soon be mutual, and whatever happens, Brighton are going to have their every move followed by millions of fans in Tehran and elsewhere in the country. If he can give them plenty to cheer about, he not only encourages compatriots and colleagues back home, he will shine a spotlight on Iran for other clubs in big leagues to start looking around.
This is a big deal not only for Brighton but for the Netherlands and, especially, for Iran.Comment
-
Then why do so many British media report 17 M? Is Hashemi just trying to make his transfer look more lucrative for us Iranians or is it actually him who's right?Comment
-
My understanding from the start has been that there is 5 million of add-on fees, so i assumed 17 + 5 (add on fees which are unlocked depending on games etc...) = 22 million.
Could be wrong though.Comment
-
It's John Duerden. He's pretty solid when it comes to Asia or Iran. Especially the past few years.Originally posted by daggerhashimoto View Post"Formerly known as AliDaeiClone"Comment
-
-
He knows the most out of Asian football and Iranian football.Originally posted by AliDaeiClone View Post
Some people here hate him because his wife is Korean and he criticised Iran for a few years on twitter apparently, but now in all of his articles he says Iran is the best team and well in front of Korea. Some of his articles in the world cup:
Graded Iran first out of asian teams: https://www.foxsportsasia.com/footba...ld-cup-graded/
also check this out: https://www.theguardian.com/football...up-2018-russia
I must have missed the years when some people on this site say he was trolling, because since 1997 when I first read one of his articles, he has arguably been the most learned and fair pundit when it comes to Asian and Iranian football, and has hyped our players when no one else was doing so (Mahdavikia pre-98, Karimi, Nekounam, Azmoun, Ezatollahi). For that alone, I respect him and if he wants to eat Kimchi on his wife's back whilst screaming for the Taeguk warriors when Korea plays Iran then he can do so. If anything, the fact that he supports Korea because of his wife makes his hyping of Iranian players over the last two decades even more impressive, but I guess some guys here won't be pleased until he divorces his wife.
-----
BTW check out how he highlighted PAG from the group stages, might be worth sharing this on social media: http://www.the-afc.com/features/who-...he-group-stageComment
-
Check his posts from 2011-12'ish. He was extremely pompous about Korea. He would write articles saying "the big 3 of Asia - Korea, Japan, and Australia" and he was very dismissive of Iran.
Yes, we were weaker at that time, but the guy's obvious Korean bias was apparent then. It made Iran look bad to be a 3 time Asian Cup champion, but omitted from conversations of Asian powerhouses.
Now that we demand his attention, and Korea is in a bad period, he has no choice but to heap praise on us, as we have established ourselves firmly at the top of the Asian pyramid.
I do not like that wishy-washy behavior. I remember I tweeted to him around 2011 asking why he omits Iran from his powerhouse label, and he says we are not on the same level as Korea, Japan, and Australia.
He was right, we are above their level. The sleeping giant awoke, and now he must kiss our hineys in order to live in reality. If we were where Australia is now, he would still omit us from all of his best of Asia articles. That is clear bias in my mind. We are Korea's greatest rival (his favorite Asian team), and wait for us to be in a down period. He will again forget about all of these accomplishments and our history as he did in 2011.
Comment
-
Good evening all,
Just saying Hi from Wales. I'm a longstanding Brighton fan and saw your link on NSC. (I read there but don't post). Just wanted to say that I'm very excited about having Alireza with us, watching his highlights reel from AZ was very interesting. I can imagine him and Jose Izqierdo causing quite a few problems for defenders next season.
(Just in case you wonder btw, Gwyl is Seagull in Welsh and Caergybi is the Welsh name of Holyhead where I live.)
All the best, look forward to visiting again.
MarkComment
-
August 13 open training session for those who want to see ARJ up close.
https://www.brightonandhovealbion.co...ion-confirmed/
Sent from my Google device using Tapatalk
Remember RESPECT BEGETS RESPECT & Zob Ahan Comment
-
-
Welcome to the forum Mark. Hope you stay around and post more often mate.Originally posted by GwylCaergybi View Post
Nice to know a bit of Welsh. Those are the only words I got to learn today.
Comment
-
OK, I missed that period, but it seems to have pissed off a lot of Iranians.Originally posted by Afat11 View Post
All I know that in every single article he has written over the last year or two, he has put Iran well ahead of anyone else (and of course the articles that he wrote in the 1997-2000 period which had Iran on top).
He, and only he.
Other big asian pundits put Iran perhaps in a top 3 including Japan and Australia, but they interchange this sometimes. And other (non asian football) pundits in the UK don't really know much about Iran, but hopefully are learning more having seen our european-style phalanx unit for this world cup and the argentina '14 game.
So he put Iran below Korea, Japan and Australia in 2011? Maybe we had the players, but the team we had in 11/12 was nothing compared to what we have now. If anything, I'm glad that he shat on us in that period, because we upped our game and now have the most disciplined team in Asia, with a fantastic future. And he appreciates that more than anyone else. I don't get why you guys are so salty about this. Its literally 2-3 years he dumped on us, the rest of the time his articles and hype has really helped iranian football and players.Comment
-
I agree that he has recently been posting positive things about Iran, but all I’m saying is he HAS to now. I’m happy with anyone promoting TM, but it is hard to forget his previous articles.Originally posted by DR Strangemoosh View Post
It is like a Boston Celtics pundit tagging on the Lakers when they were in their down period these last few years and saying Boston is a class above their rival Lakers. Then, when the Lakers get Lebron James, the pundits start praising and kissing the Lakers dynasty, and suddenly remember the team’s history. This is actually what has happened in basketball recently, and that bothers me too.
The obviously biased sportswriters have moments where they praise their rival, especially when it is due. It does not whitewash all of the dumb insults like “no players want to play in LA anymore...”, “LA’s management is horrible, etc.” There should always be respect given to teams who are historically successful. Not only when they are in their strong periods and joke about them when they are weakened. He has done this, and for that reason, I give his articles the same weight I give Bill simmons articles for the nba. People don’t forget.Comment
Comment